FTI Consulting appointed Lanskey Constructions administrator

A national building group has appointed administrators less than two months after its Queensland subsidiary collapsed owing more than $11m

National building group Lanskey Constructions has appointed administrators less than two months after its Queensland subsidiary collapsed owing more than $11m.

Lanskey Constructions Pty Ltd directors on Monday afternoon appointed Ben Campbell and John Park of FTI Consulting as administrators effective immediately.

FTI said they were undertaking an“urgent assessment” of the financial position and operations of Lanksey Constructions Pty Ltd to understand options available to maximise the outcome for its creditors. Creditors of Lanskey Constructions Pty Ltd will be updated in due course

FTI said the appointment was separate and in addition to the appointment of liquidators to its subsidiary, Lanskey Constructions Queensland, which occurred on October 24.

A report lodged by liquidators FTI Consulting with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) last month revealed Lanskey Constructions Qld Pty Ltd’s 282 unsecured creditors including the Australian Taxation Office, suppliers and subcontractors were owed $11.2m.

Lanskey, founded in 1986 by Melbourne Cup winner Paul Lanskey and Ross Williams, is involved in large commercial projects across Australasia with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland.

Lanskey Constructions Pty Ltd co-founder Paul Lanskey.

The building industry has been hit by a perfect storm of labour shortages and material price hikes in the past 12 months that has seen the demise of major builders including Probuild, Condev, Privium Homes, and Pivotal Homes.

Lanskey had worked on supermarket, retail and restaurant developments for some of the nation’s biggest brands including Woolworths, Coles, Starbucks, A-Mart and Myer.

According to the latest financial report lodged with ASIC, Lanskey Constructions Pty Ltd made a loss of $218,000 on revenue of $139.7m in the 12 months to the end of June last year. That compared to a profit of $177,000 on revenue of $134.9m the previous year. The group employs 111 people.

Lanskey Constructions Qld held a category 5 licence from the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) with allowable annual turnover of $120m.

That licence was suspended by the QBCC last month for failure to meet Minimum Financial Requirements.